Open source customer relationship management (CRM) systems offer all of the same lead nurturing and sales pipeline features as proprietary CRMs, but also make their source code available for users to customize, integrate, and distribute. The best open source CRMs offer flexibility for companies to create cost-effective solutions to suit their industry’s requirements. We reviewed the leading platforms to help you find the best solution for your business.
Here are our picks for the best open source CRM software of 2024:
The table below provides an at-a-glance comparison of how the top open source CRM solutions fared against essential features and categories. All prices are per-user with a one-year commitment, unless otherwise noted.
| Database Management | Customer Management | Source Code | Cloud Platform | Pricing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VTiger | Yes | Yes | Publicly available | Yes | Free to $42 per user, per month |
| Bitrix24 | Yes | Yes | Publicly available | Yes | Starts at $3,590 for 50 users for on-premise edition |
| HubSpot CRM | Yes | Yes | For selected projects only | Yes | Free to $1,500 per month for 10 users |
| Suite CRM | Yes | Yes | Publicly available | Yes | Starts at $120 per month |
| Odoo | Yes | Yes | Publicly available | Yes | Free to $10.90 per user |
| EspoCRM | Yes | Yes | Publicly available | Yes | $15 to $69 per user, per month |
| monday CRM | Yes | Yes | Not available | Yes | Starts at $12 per user, per month |
| Oro CRM | Yes | Yes | Publicly available | Yes | Contact sales for quote |
| Dolibarr CRM | Yes | Yes | Publicly available | Yes | $14 to $45 per user, per month |
| Epesi | Yes | Yes | Publicly available | Yes | Starts at $15 per month for unlimited users |
Best for Data Management
VTiger is a leading CRM that helps businesses manage their databases with its free cloud platform and open source variant. You can build robust reports from real-time data via multiple sources and export them in bulk in different formats, and import files from other CRMs and automatically match field names or handle record duplicates. Developers can extend the open source edition’s functionality through a wide range of plugins available in the marketplace.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Provides a plethora of features | Limited mobile app features |
| Comprehensive free version | Users report performance issues |
Best for Online Workspaces
Bitrix24 is a collaborative CRM that offers remote teams reliable cloud storage and an advanced document management system. Its on-premise edition provides full access to the source code, allowing teams to scale and customize workspaces according to their needs. Companies can take full control of their data with custom rules and role-based access and deploy independent intranets for specific departments for those working with large amounts of data.
Visit Bitrix24
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free version available for unlimited users | Free user support can be limited |
| Highly customizable platform | Steep learning curve |
Best for Sales and Marketing Operations
HubSpot CRM is a free platform that helps businesses engage with leads and customers via free sales and marketing tools. Users can manage pipelines with free contact management features and reach out to leads through live chat and social media. Although HubSpot is not strictly an open source solution, it offers open source projects developed by its product team and third parties to support marketing events, advanced workflows, and content management.
![A website page builder in HubSpot’s event app [beta].](https://www.datamation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/dm_20240207-top-10-open-source-crm-hubspot.jpg)
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Versatile free version | Only some addons are open source |
| Robust integration with HubSpot ecosystem | Free user support can be limited |
Best for Marketing Campaigns Automation
SuiteCRM is an open source solution that helps businesses automate their workflows and marketing operations. Users can create both email- and non-email-based campaigns, such as telesales and radio, and track useful metrics for marketing and advertising activities. This software is specifically designed for platforms running PHP applications, and its open source solution recently released a SuiteCRM 8.5 version, improving data visualization and interaction.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Cost-effective plans | Users report security concerns |
| Active user community | Platform uses an outdated PHP version |
Best for Production Planning and Scheduling
Odoo is an enterprise resource planning system (ERP) and integrated CRM solution that offers companies a suite of open source business applications. Companies can plan their production schedule based on the demand forecast, and define their safety stock target that must be replenished in each period. Odoo also allows work orders to be carried out at specific work centers, which allows users to calculate work order duration, operation capacities, cost per hour, and more.
Visit Odoo
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Customizable product planning settings | Platform can be overwhelming for newbies |
| Offers a free cloud version | Users report slow customer support |
Best for Customer Behavior Analysis
EspoCRM is a free, open source application that helps businesses analyze relationships with customers and partners. Users can extensively analyze their customers’ communication and purchasing histories, segment them, and create individual offers and discounts based on these data. The platform also helps businesses gain insights based on how customers behave by systematizing information about current and potential clients, suppliers, partners, and investors.
Visit EspoCRM
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Affordable and transparent pricing | Limited scalability for large enterprises |
| Highly customizable platform | Has a steep learning curve |
Best for Ease of Use
monday CRM is an intuitive CRM that offers businesses user-friendly and highly visual tools to manage their sales processes. While monday CRM isn’t an open source platform, it offers the same flexibility for businesses that don’t have an in-house developer team. Users can easily customize the CRM with its drag-and-drop interface, integration with monday apps for collaborative workflow design, and a thriving user community creating and sharing new tools.
Visit monday CRM
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Highly customizable platform | No free-forever plan |
| Visual and user-friendly interface | Limited workflow automation feature |
Best for Activity Tracking
OroCRM is an open source solution that enables client-facing teams to monitor and analyze customer activity. Teams can track customer wins or losses as they move into the pipelines and organize information into a single view to quickly see tickets created, orders placed, and customer interactions logged. It also offers a tracking website solution that helps gain insight into how your customers use your website and then use this data to collect statistics.
Visit OroCRM
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Scalable platform | Has a steep learning curve |
| Activity user community | Limited pricing transparency |
Best for Inventory Management
Dolibarr is an open source ERP and CRM system that enables businesses to manage their stocks and warehouses. Users can choose between recording their stock movement manually or automatically increasing or decreasing stocks on invoices, orders, and shipment validation. Dolibarr also enables individual and mass stock changes, as well as tracking products in detail by setting properties such as sell-by date, eat-by date, and more.
Visit Dolibarr
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| All-in-one open source solution | Limited customer support |
| Wealth of ERP tools | Relies on plugins for overall usability |
Best for Business Data Organization
Epesi BIM is an open source solution that allows users to store, organize, and share business records. Its design is to seamlessly integrate with CRM, ERP, and rapid application development (RAD) functionalities, offering a unified platform for managing business data and processes in real-time. Epesi automatically structures information on customers, leads, and partners so users can integrate this data into the sales funnel, process automation, and tasks.
Visit Epesi
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 90-day free trial | Limited CRM features |
| Robust compatibility with Linux | Lackluster mobile app |
Open source CRM solutions enable businesses to effectively manage data and customer interactions, and tailor the software to fit their needs. The best open source CRMs provide a customizable yet user-friendly and easily accessible platform for business even without the need for in-house developers. When selecting an open source CRM, there are five key features to look for.
Open source code allows users to modify and extend a CRM system’s functionality based on their needs. Open source software allows the source code to be publicly available, and anyone can view, modify, or distribute it; users often share customizations and add-ons in user communities.
With CRM software, users can manage contact data, monitor the sales pipeline movement, and nurture leads. While there are various types of CRMs, a standard CRM platform includes features for contact management, lead management, reporting, and customization capabilities.
A scalable open source solution enables businesses to expand their CRM as their customer base grows to ensure that it can handle large volumes of data. Additionally, customizability allows users to tailor the CRM to their specific needs so they can optimize the platform to fit their unique business processes.
A platform’s usability is important in an open source CRM, as it determines how users can navigate and use the platform to its full extent. A user-friendly and intuitive open source CRM allows businesses to effectively set up and implement the CRM system even without extensive training, technical support, or a team of developers.
An active community of users, developers, and experts fosters a collaborative environment where users can seek help in using and enhancing the CRM system. Community support allows users to share knowledge and documentation to continuously improve and sustain the software.
In our in-depth review of the best open source CRMs, we started by identifying six major criteria essential for businesses looking for a robust and customizable platform. We then determined weighted subcriteria and included a five-point scale to evaluate each CRM solution. Finally, we summed up the scores to find out the winners per category and each platform’s use case.
We put the highest weight on core features and customization, as open source CRMs should be flexible and provide standard tools for data and customer management. We then assessed each option’s cost and ease of use, followed by third-party integrations and customer support.
We reviewed each open source CRM’s standard offerings including database management, pipelines, scalability, and workflow automation. Criteria Winner: VTiger, HubSpot CRM
Here, we looked into how flexible each CRM platform is in terms of its reports and dashboard, pipelines, data repositories, user roles, and more. Criteria Winner: VTiger
We assessed the pricing structure of the CRMs on the list, such as their hosted starting price, availability of open source variants, free trial length, billing options, and pricing transparency. Criteria Winner: EspoCRM, Bitrix24
We checked reviews and ratings from real users across certified sites to assess each CRM solution’s overall usability and learning curve. We also looked into each option’s knowledge base, documentation, and community forums. Criteria Winner: monday CRM
This evaluates each platform’s support solutions, such as live chat, phone, and email. We also browsed through feedback from real users on reliable review sites. Criteria Winner: monday CRM
We considered how each CRM seamlessly syncs with applications for email, Google Workspace, analytics, machine learning, and API frameworks. Criteria Winner: Odoo
Open source CRMs are generally free to use and are cost-effective alternatives to proprietary software. While its source code is shared with the public, there might be additional costs for customization, maintenance, and support. There are also CRM platforms that only offer an open source version for on-premise editions and require annual subscription fees. Carefully consider the total cost of ownership and its benefits before choosing an open source CRM.
The two types of open source software are copyleft and permissive. Copyright licenses, such as the GNU General Public License (GPL), ensure that any derivative work or modifications remain open source—anyone who makes changes to the software should share those changes with other user communities, promoting collaboration and sustainability.
On the other hand, a permissive license such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) or Apache license places minimal restrictions on the use, modification, and distribution of the software compared with that of a copyleft license.
To know if an open source option is right for you, consider factors such as your business needs and long-term goals, budget, and expertise. Also consider your customization needs before deciding to use open source, as it can be a cost-effective solution for your business when used properly. However, open source might require more internal resources and technical know-how than proprietary software, so carefully consider these factors before making a decision.
With open source software, businesses can tailor their CRMs to fit their specific needs in data management and customer relationships. While these solutions are supported and updated by active user communities, the best open source CRMs provide a solid suite of features, customizability, and usability. Consider our list to narrow down your options, seek advice from experts, or sign up for demos to find the best open source CRM for your business.
If you’re working beyond customer data and large datasets instead, open source data mining tools can be a better option for you. Read our detailed guide to the best open source data mining tools to help you find cost-effective tools to meet your organization’s data management and advanced analytics needs.
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